1505
by OneLastBird
Summary: Tulio tells Chel the story of a dazzling partnership's less than stellar beginning.
1. Prologue

**I don't own The Road to El Dorado or it's characters. I'm just doing this for fun.**

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"...and then I suggest the usual 'jump on three' routine. I count to three and I jump, but not Miguel, no he's too busy enjoying the view!" Tulio used the act of throwing another stick onto the campfire to display his annoyance.

Miguel nearly dropped his lizard-on-a-stick as he came to his own defense. "It was a very good view!"

"Yeah! A good view that was _screaming for the guards!"_

"Well... she shouldn't have been standing half-naked in a window then!"

Tulio made no comment to that. He sent a glare across the fire at his friend as he patted Chel on the back so she wouldn't die of laughter. Once the young woman finally managed to get it under control she plucked her own lizard from the fire and blew on it a few times to cool it off. She offered it to Tulio who sneered in disgust and pushed it away. "Nooo... thank you," he said, "I'll stick with fruit."

Chel chuckled. "Suit yourself." She took a bite and then asked Miguel, "So I guess you not jumping was a problem?"

Miguel smirked and opened his mouth to answer, but Tulio beat him to it. "Yes," he said. "See, there was only one awning below us, and if we both jumped at the same time, we would have both gone through it, slowing our fall enough that it wouldn't kill us. Because only I jumped, only I went through the awning and Miguel was stuck on the roof with four guards and no way down."

"Um, I'm fairly certain there were more guards than that."

"No, there were only four."

"But-"

"_Anyways,_ there I am on the ground, _screaming_ at this idiot to run for it, and all I hear is his battle cry as he charges these men who are all armed, armored, and twice his size."

Chel almost choked as she gaped at the blond in disbelief. "You charged them?!?"

Miguel shrugged. "I was hoping their surprise would be to my advantage, and it worked!" He clapped his hands together, and then mock drew his lizard-stick (sans the lizard) from his hip. "I managed to steal one of their swords and took them all on in a gallant battle! Hoo-Ha!" He stood, sweeping the stick around (forcing Tulio and Chel to duck for their lives) as he enthusiastically reenacted the fight.

The happy couple rolled their eyes in unison. "So, what'd you do to save his butt?" asked Chel.

Tulio smiled and leaned in for a kiss. "Well, first I yelled some more," he paused to allow her to giggle, "And then I developed a plan."

"Of course you did," said Chel as she pinched his cheek.

He allowed this for a moment before batting her off. "Like I said before, there was a festival, and the next house over was draped with yellow fabric. As soon as I saw it I knew what to do. There was this iron bar attached to the wall where the awning had been, so I cut some fabric down and I actually had to climb a window in order to tie it on. By the time I was done all I had to do was pull, and I'd have a makeshift net to catch Miguel's fall."

"And how did you manage to get the gallant knight's attention?" She nodded towards Miguel. He had Altivo involved in his sword play. The horse picked up a twig from the firewood pile in his mouth and was doing a good job of fighting back.

"I called his name. That didn't work. I whistled _really_ loud. Still didn't work. So I grabbed a rock and threw it at him; hit him in the head."

"Did that work?" Chel asked with mirth.

"Too well... I barely had time to pull the fabric tight before _tonto_ over there landed on it. Of course, it worked perfectly and he was completely unscathed."

Chel laughed some more. "And then you got away?" Tulio's face fell. "You didn't?!? No wait! Let me guess. All your yelling attracted-"

"More guards," he confirmed.

"Did you fight them?"

"Hell no! I grabbed Miguel and we ran for our lives! And thus ended our adventure on the rooftops of Barcelona."

Chel was grinning from ear to ear, loving the attention and the stories. She stretched and leaned against her boyfriend as she watched his partner act like a child. "Just how many adventures have the two of you had?"

Tulio sighed contentedly. "More than I care to think about," he said in a flat tone that made her giggle.

They watched the blond and the horse go at it for a few minutes. Then Chel ruined the moment. "How did the two of you even meet? That must be the best story of them all..."

She noticed something was wrong from the way Tulio went stiff, but it was the sudden end to Miguel's antics that got her worried. His back to them, the blond slowly lowered his arm and dropped the stick.

"Um, you'd think that," said Tulio with a forced smile, "but it's actually quite boring. Nothing interesting happened _at all."_

"Tulio..." That was Miguel. When he turned around he was smiling, it even reached his eyes, but it lacked it's usual light. "You don't have to lie to her for my sake. It's not like it's a secret."

Chel switched her gaze between the two of them and noticed the amount of concern in Tulio's face. He started to say, "I don't-"

"No, it's alright," Miguel interrupted him.

Tulio frowned. "It's not. It's not even my story to tell."

"Half of it is."

"Miguel..."

"Look, you know me." Miguel splayed his arms out as though to display as much of himself as he could. "I jump in head first, remember? And Chel's not going anywhere anytime soon. We both know you're _eventually_ going to tell her, so I'd like it to be sooner rather than later and without the whole 'it was a secret, how could you?!?' scandal." He put his hands together and took a deep breath. "Alright?"

Tulio sighed, but nodded. "Alright..."

Miguel smiled. "Alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm... ah... I'm going for a walk down the beach." Before they could say anything to the contrary, he slipped from the firelight and into the trees. Altivo gave the lovers a confused look before following him.

Tulio sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I said something wrong," said Chel.

He smiled at her sadly and said, "No." He paused, staring after his friend. "You couldn't have known."

"Will he be alright?"

To her surprise he just rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Of course he will. He's Miguel. He's had so many hard knocks that a bump like this is nothing. And so, shall we begin?"

Chel gazed absently at the fire, taking in those words with everything that had just happened. "You know, I'm starting to think maybe I don't want to hear this."

He sneaked an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Well, it's a bit too late for that."

She sighed. "Just... is it sad? Because I've heard enough sad stories to last me a lifetime."

Tulio thought about it and shrugged. "Some of it is. Some of it isn't. Depends on how you look at it. Now, can I start?"

She paused, than said, "Okay."

But he didn't start immediately. Instead he rested his chin in his hand and his eyes got that glazed look they held whenever he was deep in thought. After a moment of this, Chel groaned and elbowed him in the gut. "I thought you said you were going to start?" she asked impatiently.

"I am," Tulio whined. "I was thinking about the best place to..." and then he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"

"Got what?"

He winked. With a straightening of his vest and a dramatic flourish of his hand he said, "This story begins like most of them do; with me running away from something...


	2. Chapter 1

This story begins like most of them do; with me running away from something, and no, it wasn't angry guards or cheated sailors. This was long before all that. No, the year was 1505, and I was on the run from my father.

See, I had just arrived in the town of Bilbao. Having grown up in a village in the middle of nowhere, this was something new and exciting, and believe it or not I used to live for such things.

My father was there to work at some distant relative's dock (my eldest brother's uncle-in-law, I think), because he couldn't find work anywhere else. It was a gamble, but the plan was to make a good profit in this flourishing port and then send the money back home to support my considerably large family. I was brought along as I was the only one of my brothers who was old enough to work but didn't already have a job. I thought it sucked. Then we got there and my sense of adventure kicked it.

My father had made a grave mistake the day before. After we got everything unloaded, he allowed me to go off and explore. This gave me the chance to "fall in love," and how could I _ever_ be expected to work when my beloved was waiting for me to woo her?

Her name was Tierra, and she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen... up to that point of course. She had black hair that curled and flowed like water in a fountain, skin tanned to a rich copper, and eyes so light a blue you would have sworn they were forged from silver. She was a grown woman; a traveller, living out of a tent and getting by with tales of the New World. I was a scrawny preteen who had just discovered that girls weren't as icky as I thought.

That I never stood a chance was the last thing on my mind as I raced towards her tent that day.

Even then I was the man with the plan. It was so simple it couldn't fail. On the way I spotted some flowers blooming in a garden and stole the biggest, smelliest one I could find to be my gift as I declared my undying love for her. I was certain that, moved by it's elegance, she would be instantly smitten. I didn't really know what would come after that. Maybe we'd run away together?

However, when I reached her tent I found I was beaten.

Coming up to it I could hear her lovely voice like a song. She was telling one of her stories, and though a little disappointed that I would have to wait until the customer left, I was curious. It was way too early in the morning for anyone to be around, which was the whole idea. I wanted to know who could have gotten there first despite the hour, so I crept up to the tent, parted one of the flaps with my fingers, and peered inside.

What I saw had me burning with anger and jealousy. There was a boy in there, close to my age. He was sitting on top of a trunk with Cece, Tierra's fat, brown cat, purring in his lap like it wasn't the meanest beast I'd ever met. He was blond and much too fine featured to be a common peasant. Yet he was dressed like one. As he listened to the woman talk, his face was filled with all the rapture of a child.

In my young mind this handsome stranger had already stolen her affections! He had destroyed my one chance at happiness! I wanted to march right in there and replace his stupid grin with my fist, and I might have done it too, if Tierra didn't end my chance right there.

I guess she heard my angry grumbling because before I knew it, she pulled the tent flap aside to find me crouched there, twisting the stem of the flower in my hands. I was horrified!

"Oh, hello there," she said.

This was enough to shake me out of my frozen state. I was red. I mean _cardinal_ red. I wasn't even able to look her in the eye as I stood up and held out my now mangled gift.

She was kind enough to smile and ask, "Is this for me?"

I nodded, still not meeting her eyes.

"How lovely," she said with more enthusiasm than I deserved. "_Gracias_. What a little gentleman." She took the flower as though it was spun glass and swept back inside, beckoning me to follow. "Come in. Come in." She started rooting through her things, for what I didn't know.

I did as she said, and stood in the middle of her tent with no way to ease my embarrassment. The other boy was staring. His expression was of honest curiosity, but I interpreted it as a mocking jeer. I glared at him and was satisfied when he flinched and looked away.

Before I could say anything, Tierra produced an exotic looking vas into which she placed my flower. "Perfect!" she said as she set it on some crates that were draped with foreign cloths. She turned to me. "Your name is Tulio, yes?"

"Yes," I squeaked. She remembered my name! Surely that must mean she shared my feelings! While her back was turned I smirked at _him_ and stuck my tongue out. Immature, I know, but what else could I do? His eyes widened with confusion, and then he returned the favor. When Tierra turned back around we both switched to looking like little angels.

"Now I was just telling my new friend here about the Pirates Who Killed 1000 Men. How they defeated the Leviathan and sailed right into hell. Care to join?"

She could have told me that God was a baboon and the King liked streaking, and I would have stayed to listen. I grinned and said, "Yes," feeling like I was in a dream.

Her teeth flashed when she smiled, and she put her hand out. "Pay up then. Can't be giving freebies."

I don't think I was aware as I reached into my pocket, pulled out my last ten _centimos _piece, and handed it to her. I watched in awe as she held the coin up to the light and turned it over in her fingers. She flicked it into the air and caught it, smiled at me again, and said, "Have a seat."

There were different crates and trunks and things that were turned into makeshift benches by the addition of cushions or cloth. I looked over the inside of the tent for the best one, and to my frustration I found that the blond kid had taken up the biggest, plushest spot. The trunk was big, though, and it could have fit five boys our size. I decided he wasn't getting the best seat all to himself.

When I sat down I realized he was looking at me. He was smiling and his face was so friendly, almost hopeful. I gave him another glare which surprised him and caused him to start. This caused Cece to hiss and dig her claws into his leg. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and tensed in pain, but he didn't cry out or toss the animal away as I would've done. Instead he stroked her gently until she relaxed and started purring once more.

Both Tierra and I watched this, and she said, "Impressive. I have never seen her that calm around anyone."

The boy shrugged like it was nothing. I was really beginning to loath him.

Tierra sat down next to my flower. She placed her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands, and she peered at my nemesis with a mysterious little smile. "You have a name?"

I wanted to know that as well. Then I could find out where he lived and murder him in his sleep.

The question caused him to almost panic. His eyes shifted rapidly between the two of us before he looked down at his hands where they rested on the cat.

"Shy guy, huh?" said Tierra. "Well, chin up. This is a fated meeting." I hoped for a moment that she meant fated between me and her, but nooo. "I see it. You're destiny will be filled with wonder, and you will meet it together, as friends."

Both our jaws dropped. When I looked at him I saw a mirror image of my own disgusted scowl. I found myself for the first time thinking that maybe Tierra was a little nuts. Beautiful, amazing, the love of my life, but nuts.

The woman laughed and clapped her hands, causing us to jump. "And now, the story!"

I don't remember all the details of that story. She told me so many over those months that they've all blended together. I can say this, though, it was unique and very strange. To this day, I have never heard anything quite like Tierra's tales. The frustrating thing was that each one had a moral which I never got right.

When she finished speaking she stood and asked, "What has this taught you."

My nemesis made like he wanted to answer, so I didn't give him the chance. I said, "If you kill 1000 men you can invade hell?"

Tierra's laughter was like so many bells. "No," she said, "Try again."

I thought for a moment. "Um, if you ever meet the Leviathan, aim for the right eye?"

She laughed and _laughed_ while my face burned with embarrassment. I didn't mean that as a joke. When she finished she looked to my nemesis to see if he wanted to try. He shook his head so she cleared her throat. "You should not fight what bars your path when it is a path you should not take."

"Oh... I get it." I didn't, but as if I'd admit it. I was fed moral stories all the time back home, but never one with a moral quite like that.

"Good!" As the woman advanced on us, Cece seemed to sense danger and leapt off her blond pin cushion. "Now, story's over boys, and though you two are _so cute_," before either of us could dodge she ruffled our hair, "It's mid morning and Tierra needs to start her day." She lifted us to our feet by our shirt collars and, hands on our backs, pushed us out of the tent with a cheerful, "_Adios!_"

There we were, standing side by side in a street that had come to life with activity. I imagine we were like a pair of rejected puppies. I looked at my nemesis. A few strands of his hair were in disarray, but otherwise he looked fine. I didn't fare as well. My hair was even curlier back then, and too short to tie back. I didn't need to see myself. I could feel it. It was everywhere.

The blond kid recovered faster than I did. One run of his hand through his hair, and the ruffled look was gone. He started to walk away, but I wasn't letting him off that easily. He ruined my chance, and Tierra had treated us like... like _children_. I was going blame him for as much as I could. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alley. Though he stumbled at first, he came along easily enough and never complained. I didn't know where I was going so I kept us walking until I found a small, deserted courtyard, and when I stopped, I swung him around so we were facing each other. He frowned indignantly and rubbed the spot on his arm where I had gripped him, but I was unmoved. I took this chance to get a good look at him.

Blond hair, green eyes, kinda girly. I had several inches on him thanks to a growth spurt earlier in the spring. But I was surprised to realize that his colorless linen shirt was old, patched, and several sizes too big. His pants were in a similar state, and all he had for footwear was a pair of sandals.

And I thought I was poor! At least I had shoes, and clothes that fit. However, this failed to effect me, as I was still hopping mad. I didn't even truly understand it. Let's just say being a boy at that age is confusing.

However, I was never much of a fighter. I _was_ a boy. I'd _been_ in fights before, but I never started them. I did the first thing that came to mind... I started talking. "We weren't properly introduced." I stuck my hand out. "I'm Tulio."

He eyed me suspiciously, but still took my hand. He didn't say anything, though, and this pissed me off even more. I started squeezing, but quickly regretted it because he squeezed back _hard_. He also shifted his grip so that my bones were ground together.

With a cry of pain I twisted my body so that I could wrench myself away. Massaging my palm, I practically snarled at him. My pride was wounded. This kid was so much smaller than me that I expected this fight to be easy (I never would have picked it otherwise), but he made me look like a wimp. I snapped and pushed him.

He didn't fall, only staggered back a bit, so I pushed him again. "Who do you think you are, huh?!" I yelled. I gave him another shove. We were halfway across the courtyard and even the fact that he wasn't fighting back had me livid. "Can't even tell me your name?!" He tripped on a jutting cobblestone and finally went down. I stopped short of kicking him. "What are you, some sort of brainless moron?!"

Yes it was low. Yes I was behaving like a bully. I'm not going to try and defend myself. All can say is that I was a kid, and sometimes kids are mean.

Plus, I was going to pay for it.

The blond sat there breathing hard, his head lowered and his hair sheeting his eyes. Before I knew it, he was up and charging at me. The impact of his shoulder with my gut knocked out all my air, and I landed sprawled on my back with him on top of me. He got in a good punch before I managed to kick him off.

There was a moment of quiet. We were both on the ground, about a foot from each other, and doing nothing more than gasping for breath. Our eyes met and I knew then that my opponent was just as angry as I.

Then both of us were up again, fists and feet flying. He was actually stronger than me, despite his short stature, and he was fast. It was difficult just to hit him, but like I said, I'd been in fights before. I had a size advantage, and I didn't spend all those years scraping with my brothers for nothing.

The fight lasted no more than a few minutes, and it ended when I grabbed his legs and pulled them out from under him. He landed hard and lay there holding his head, giving me time to get up.

I knew it was over, and I wasn't vicious enough to take it further than it needed to go, so I stood back.

He recovered quickly, and picked himself off the ground. Face red, black eye, split lip, bared teeth... oh yeah. He was not a happy camper. I half expected him to come at me again, but he ran for it instead.

"Yeah, that's right!" I called after him. "Don't let me catch you around here again or... or you'll get it!"

There was blood coming out of my mouth from where I bit the inside of my lip. I wiped it away with the back of my hand and adjusted my aching jaw.

I stood there a long time, trying to figure it all out. I won. I beat him. So why didn't I feel good about it? Tierra seemed a long way off, a reason that wasn't so great now that all was said and done. I used to enjoy wrestling with my siblings and the other kids back home, but that was for fun. This... this wasn't fun at all.

No fun. No satisfaction. All I got out of it was a whole lot of bruises and a slightly upset stomach.


	3. Chapter 2

_Chel was giving him a look. One eyebrow cocked, mouth half in a smirk. It was a cross between amusement and disbelief._

_ "What?!" Tulio finally broke under the power of it._

_ "You're telling me the first time you met you beat the snot out of each other over a woman?"_

_ Her tone was enough to make him cringe. He nodded meekly._

_ "Ugh, men..." _

_ "But, how do you know it was Miguel that I'm talking about?" he dared to ask._

_ Chel gave him the look again. "You're kidding right? Come on Tulio, 'Blond hair, green eyes, kinda girly?'" she said that last one with a sideways bob of her head, "It's obviously Miguel. Although, he doesn't look that girly to me."_

_ Tulio leaned over and whispered, "You've never seen him without the goatee."_

_ That got a chuckle out of her, but then she realized something. "And what's all this about that Tierra being the 'most beautiful thing' and the 'love of your life?'"_

_ Sensing danger, he cleared his throat and said, "I was a kid. She was my first crush." The alarms were going off even worse. "Let's just continue the story."_

_ "There's more?"_

_ "Oh yeah," he said. "This is just the beginning."_

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The reaming out I got that afternoon was one of the worst I ever received. My father was mostly yelling things about shirking responsibilities, and possible kidnappers. I stood there and took it, my back ramrod straight, nodding where appropriate, but do you think I listened to a word he was saying? Nope.

My punishment was that I could forget about all my breaks and free time for the next week. The fact that I was black and blue didn't seem to concern him. I guess that's what happens when you have five sons. It didn't matter that I was aching and stiff, I was put straight to work.

I had already met my relative the day before. He was a big, loud, smiling man of the sea who had immediately insisted to be called Uncle Hugo by both myself and my father. He owned three docks in the business of loading and unloading merchant ships, and he scared the crap out of me. Maybe it was his habit of randomly bursting into the loudest laugh ever, or maybe it was the hook he had for a left hand, but I was a cringing wreck who couldn't get two words out whenever he was around.

I smirked when my father hauled me outside. There were no ships in, and I naively thought this meant no work. Little did I know that Uncle Hugo's imagination was endlessly rich when it came to inventing jobs. First I was set to hauling anything light enough for me to lift, then it was helping to aimlessly pull ropes, crawling into tight crannies in the warehouse to kill rats (my favorite), and dozens of equally exhausting little things. By the end of that day I had my first taste of what it was to be a menial laborer, and I _hated _it.

This went on for three more days and at the end of each I would be so bone-tired that it was all I could do to get some food in me before I passed out. The fourth day was a Friday. That morning I realized I still had two more full days before getting Sunday off, and I was seriously considering running away again, consequences be damned.

However Dad noticed my fatigue and, bleeding heart that he is, told me to take the rest of the day off. I was surprised that he was going back on his punishment, but I should have seen it coming. He was a kind man, and always so good to us. I think working me to the bone like that was almost as hard on him as it was on me... _almost_.

And he didn't have to tell me twice!

I was allowed free range of the town. I know that sounds strange as I've already said Dad was upset over possible kidnappers, but that was because I had been out so early in the morning and no one was around. Late night and early morning, the hours when most of Spain is asleep, is a prime time for children to get stolen. It didn't happen all that often, but it was enough to make my parents afraid. The rule for those times was "in a group or not at all," but as long as it was during the day and I promised to stay where there were people, it was fine.

Even though I was elated to be free, I didn't run; my legs were too sore for running. My first thought was to go visit Tierra, but that brought my thoughts around to my nemesis.

Though not exactly pious, my family lived and _breathed _by a credo of loyalty, honesty, and kindness (which is probably why they're still so dirt poor).

If you haven't caught on, I grew up to be the black sheep, but at the time this was all I knew. The thought that I deliberately hurt someone who was smaller than me, and betrayed everything I was taught to believe in, well... I felt like scum.

I couldn't face my love knowing what I'd done.

That and I really didn't have the energy to go far anyways, so I picked an area that had plenty of people to watch, climbed a pile of crates, and sat in the shade of a warehouse wall.

Daydreaming about Tierra was nice. I let her gracefully dance through my mind as clouds sailed across the sky and ships across the sea. The many voices of people going about their lives were her melody, until one closer, more animated voice threw it off.

I looked around and found that a young man had taken up shop next to my perch. He was using a crate as a table and had three white cockleshells lined up on it. This made no sense to me, but as I watched, he called some foreign merchants over and explained the game.

He placed a pea on the crate and covered it with the middle shell, then he rapidly shifted all three around in a random pattern. The point was to keep your eye on the shell containing the pea and point it out at the end. Even though I had no money to play, I decided to try following the game for the fun of it.

The man was charming, and both his speech and his smile were as quick as his hands. When he stopped I was sure about the shell on the left. So were the merchants, because that's the one they chose. The shell was flipped over and... nothing.

I couldn't believe it! I was sure that was the right one!

The man revealed the pea was under the middle shell "Oh, look at that! I'm too fast for you, eh?," said the man, "care to try again?"

It took myself and the merchants two more tries before we got it right, but I couldn't figure it out. I didn't do anything different that time than the previous ones, so why did it suddenly work?

The merchants seemed to catch on to the same thing, so they cut his losses and left. This didn't bother the young man, though. As I watched throughout the morning there were plenty of people with money in their pockets to waste on this game, and I began to notice a few things.

It was around midday when the man waved off his last customer and sat back with a sigh. I didn't know why he was chuckling until he said, "You figure it out yet, kid?" He looked up at me with a twisted grin.

I gasped and nearly fell. He knew I was there the whole time! I was afraid he'd be mad, and he didn't look like the kind of person you wanted to piss off. He was dressed normally enough, but his teeth were yellow and his hair and beard were wild.

He laughed at my fear. "You got any money on you?"

My eyes widened and I frantically shook my head.

"Oh well," he said. "Come down here and I'll give you a free game."

I didn't want to go down there. I wanted to run all the way back to Uncle Hugo's, but my body climbed down and stood in front of him of its own accord.

He didn't bother explaining the rules this time. He just began the game and switched the shells around. When he stopped he said, "So, which is it under?"

I hadn't taken my eyes off them since they started to move, and I pointed to the rightmost shell. "I _know_ that's the one it started under," I said, "but it's not there now, is it?"

He revealed the pea was not under the one I pointed at, then he flipped over the leftmost one and sure enough, there it was. "Not bad, kid."

This made me frown, more frustrated than ever. "But, how do you do that?"

He pursed his lips and tapped his chin with a rough finger. "Tell you what. Go to the market and look for a big guy wearing fancy black boots. He should have a knife game set up. You tell him Goyo sent you and he'll give you some _chorizo_ and cheese. Don't eat it. Bring it straight back here, and I'll show you the trick."

I already forgot my earlier fatigue as I took off running. This only lasted till the market, though. Then I had to bend over and catch my breath. I practically limped through the crowds, and sure enough there was a big guy who had a bunch of targets set up and was inviting people to throw knives at them. I knew this was the right man when I saw his boots, because boy were they fancy. They were black, and covered in pressed designs and stylized animals. Standing there with a grim face and half-a-dozen knives in his hand, he was even more intimidating than Uncle Hugo.

"Um... excuse me?"

I was shaking in my shoes when he squinted down at me in the noonday sun. "Get lost," he said, "this ain't a kid's game."

"But... Go... Goyo told me to find you!"

I hoped his face would lighten up at this, but it didn't change. "Goyo eh? So you're the new errand boy?"

"I.. I guess?"

He made a growl-like sound in his throat, reached behind one of the targets, and pulled out a small sack which I figured contained the food. He tossed it at me hard enough that I almost fell over. "He tell you not to eat it?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

He nodded. "Then don't, or he'll be having _you_ for lunch instead."

I chuckled nervously and he frowned. He was serious. Dead serious.

I muttered a quick, "Thank you," and, clutching the package to my chest, started to make my way back to the marina. Once I was out of the big guy's sight I loosened up a bit. I walked along at an easy pace and swung the sack around by it's drawstrings.

There was Goyo's crate, but where was Goyo?

I looked around, up and down the street, until suddenly an arm wrapped around my midsection and I was snatched off my feet. I would have screamed if a fish-reeking hand wasn't clamped over my mouth. I tried to struggle, but my legs could only kick uselessly and my arms were pinned to my sides.

As quickly as I was picked up I found myself deposited in an empty side street.

"Ah, my lunch!" said Goyo. I was frozen in shock so he plucked the sack from my trembling hands. He plopped down with his back against a wall, pulled out a dried sausage and a lump of cheese, and started eating. After a few bites he noticed I wasn't moving. "Lighten up, kid. I can't be revealing my secrets out in the open street."

I relaxed, just a bit, and then placed my hands over my growling stomach. Watching him eat made me realize how hungry I was getting.

Goyo saw this and scowled. "Don't think you're getting any," he warned.

I shook my head. "I can go back to Uncle Hugo's."

"You've got a family?"

"Yeah."

He smirked bitterly. "Lucky you. At any rate, I should show you that trick so you can go off and eat."

He pulled a crate in front of himself and took the three seashells and the pea from his pocket. After he set them up he said, "I'll slow this down. See if you can spot it."

Slowly he move the shells. It was a lot easer to follow the pea-shell at this speed and after a couple of seconds I was getting bored, when, without stopping, he asked, "There. Did you see it?"

"See what?"

"Don't bother following that one anymore. Keep your eye on all three."

I tried to do as he said, but even at that speed it was confusing. My eyes were beginning to cross when I caught a tiny flicker of green. "I saw it!"

"Good, which one is it under?"

"That one!" and I was right. I smiled in comprehension. "You're moving the shells, but not the pea!"

He smiled back. "Not bad at all."

Then something dawned on me. "But, isn't that cheating?"

"When did I say it was against the rules?" He shrugged.

I crossed my arms and frowned at him. "But it's still dishonest."

He just chuckled. "Honesty won't buy a bed or fill my stomach. Not someone like me. Care for one more game?"

"Are you going to cheat?"

"Of course!"

He started moving slowly without waiting for me to agree, and despite myself I found my eyes watching for that moment of green. There! I followed that shell until... There! And again! Now that I knew what I was looking for, it was easy to follow. I didn't even notice when he sped up. Soon the shells were moving at normal speed. Then even faster. My eyes were moving so rapidly that I should have gotten dizzy, but I was concentrating too hard.

The shells stopped.

"Which one?" asked Goyo.

I bit my lip and nervously pointed at the middle shell. His hand hovered over it for a moment of suspense, then he turned it over.

I got it right! I felt myself swelling with pride.

"You have a good eye," he said. I could see a greedy spark in his brown eyes that I would eventually become all too familiar with. At the time I took it to mean he was impressed. "What's you're name, kid?

"Tulio."

"Well Tulio, you scoot on to your uncle's now, get some food in you. Oh, and come back round here anytime. We'll have another game, 'k?"

"Okay!" I was excited by this encounter and I might have lingered longer, but by that point I was starving.

When I got back to the docks the lunch break was over, but Uncle Hugo's wife Carla had some bean stew set aside for me. "You're lucky there's any left," she told me. "What took you so long?" I was beyond _comprehending_ that question, let alone answering it. She took one look at my weary, famished state, clucked her tongue, and placed food before me. I inhaled three bowls worth.

When I couldn't get anymore in me, I was promptly kicked out of the kitchen. I went outside and picked a shady spot under a window to sit and observe the activity of the docks. A ship had just come in, and it was nice to watch other people work their butts off for once. As the heat of the afternoon wore on I drifted to sleep.

I didn't wake up until the next morning.

Things got markedly better after that. My father lifted his punishment even though it was two days early, and I had plenty of breaks and free time. Also, Uncle Hugo was a man who promoted productivity, and took it upon himself to discover which tasks I was best suited for. Unfortunately rat catching was one of them, but the trade off was that I was given far less heavy lifting and rope pulling. Those two things are the bulk of the work at a dock, and a skinny, coltish boy like me was of little use. I have a suspicion that inventing strange new tasks for me amused him to no end, and his favorite phrase became, "Tulio, have I got a job for you." Those words _still _make me shudder.

* * *

That Sunday was probably the first time I got excited about going to mass. Because of my guilt, I avoided Tierra's all week, but I was sure I would see her there. Even if it was only a passing glance, it would be enough for me.

I was disappointed though. She was nowhere to be found. The church was the largest building I had ever been in, and most of the town was packed inside, so maybe I missed her?

I never saw my nemesis either, and yes, I _was_ looking for him. What better time to apologize and beg forgiveness? I thought I spotted a flash of blond hair at one point, but it was only for a second.

After mass, I took Goyo up on his offer and was introduced to the big, fancy-boots guy, Luis, and a redheaded foreigner named Fin. To me these three were the epitome of cool. I spent every free moment I could tailing them and learning all that they were willing to teach me. It wasn't that I was truly interested in their particularly_... _dodgy skills, but it was the only way I could come up with to make them think I was cool too.

And so passed my first week in Bilbao.

By the second week I got over the fight with my nemesis enough to finally pay Tierra a visit. I lacked the courage to try another love confession, but she was as wonderfully radiant as ever. Soon I was juggling my time between her and Goyo's gang.

But by the third week it all came crashing down. It got harder and harder to go out, to enjoy my new found friends, until I gave up leaving the docks altogether and spent every moment in a miserable funk.

I missed playing with my brothers and sisters, and my friends back home. There were other kids my age in Bilbao, sure, but I was from the country... the country in a different province. Even my way of speaking made them laugh at me.

I wanted to climb trees again and swim in the little brook, piss off my neighbor's goats, rob the Gonzalez orchard of its apples, hunt for wild berries, run for my life from Bully the bull, and, though I'm _horribly _embarrassed to admit it (and you better not laugh at me), I wanted to hug Mamã.

I was homesick... like... the despairingly _woebegone_ kind.

One afternoon I sat with my legs dangling off the dock, my hands hanging between my knees, and my shoulders slumped. I was staring at clumps of sea foam passing by with the tide. I didn't imagine they looked like anything, nor did I wonder what they were made of or why they were there. All I did was stare vacantly and try to forget that I was desperate to go home.

Then I noticed there was something big next to me that blocked the sun. I glanced sideways and found my father there, copying my pose exactly.

"What are you looking at that's so interesting?" he asked.

I pointed at the water and said, "Foam..." in an empty voice.

"Ah." He was silent a beat, and then, "I think clouds are better. They come in different colors and they don't stink."

I knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to start an argument. Arguing over nonsense was our favorite pastime together, but I just didn't feel like it. "Sure," I said. "Clouds. They're better."

He sighed. "Tulio, I know this is hard for you. It isn't easy on any of us, but it's not like it's forever. We only need to stay here until we have enough money to get back on our feet."

"...I know." And I did. I understood that from the beginning. We would go home eventually, but that didn't make me feel any better.

Dad drew in a breath through his nose, his back straightening as he filled his lungs with salty air. He smiled and his dark eyes shimmered. "Do you know what I miss the most?"

I looked at him in surprise. Wasn't he trying to cheer me up? How would talking about what we missed do anything but depress me even more? This was a new tactic, one I didn't recognize. Curious, I went along with it. "No, what?"

"Your mother's spiced chestnuts."

Instantly I was drooling. How could he do this to me?! He knew those were my favorite, so why would he be so cruel as to bring them up?!

He kept going. "I can't quite remember the recipe. What about you?"

"Well _yeah." _Of course I remembered it: chestnuts wrapped in thinly sliced, cured meat and roasted in a secret concoction of ingredients that was passed down through Mamã's side of the family for generations. I had it memorized by the age of six.

The problem was that we couldn't just pick chestnuts off a tree in the backyard, like we did at home. If we wanted to make them here in town we would have to buy the ingredients, some of which were specific to our province. It would be much too expensive.

And yet my father said, "Wait, isn't today a market day?" To my amazement, he took his purse from his belt and counted out five whole _pesetas_, which for me was an incredible amount of money. After all, we were only making twenty _pesetas _a week. My hands shook as he gave them to me. "This should be enough. I want you to go to the market and buy everything we need. By the time you get back, my shift will be over and you can show me how to make spiced chestnuts."

I was almost in tears as I bounced off towards the market with a pocket full of gold.

Then halfway there I saw him... _my nemesis. _He was sneaking behind a couple of barrels. Sneaking down the marina. In my mind, sneaking off to steal Tierra away from me. Suddenly the gold was forgotten, as was the food. All that guilt and thought of forgiveness from the last three weeks was replaced with red as I ran towards him like a bull in Pampalona.

Somehow he saw me coming. His mouth opened in a gasp of terror, and then he was off like a shot. He led me on a merry chase further and further from the main streets of town and into the shadier areas I knew little about.

Suddenly I found my way blocked by a horde of grimy sailors. "Out of the way!" I cried as I tried to skirt around them.

However the back of my shirt was grabbed before I could get away, and I was hauled back in front of them. "Not so fast," said the biggest, ugliest sailor. I assumed he was the leader. "Ain't you Goyo's new friend?"

I puffed myself up proudly and made an extremely unwise decision. "Why yes, I am."

The cruel smirk that spread through the group caused me to deflate a bit, and then leader went and said, "Oh good, because that lying shyster owes me money."


	4. Chapter 3

That ruined my day pretty fast. "He does?" I squeaked. I backed away and cowered as they advanced, their hungry hands reaching towards me. "That's interesting, because when I said 'friend' I really meant more like... 'passing acquaintance'... and.. ah... he owes me money too... and... bye!" I darted back the way I came as fast as my legs could carry me.

Too bad it wasn't fast enough. I suppose I should be proud that I made it two whole blocks and left most of the horde behind, but apparently the leader was also the quickest of them, because he managed to keep up with me and catch me around the legs.

I fell flat on my face, spluttering dust. Next thing I knew I was scrabbling at the ground for a hand hold as I was dragged backwards, and then at the air as I was held up by my ankle. I was flailing at first, but gave up when something glinted close to my chest... that was one big dagger.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man whistling up the street, and I recognized him as one of Uncle Hugo's dock workers. He froze when he saw us. I thought I was saved, but the moment stretched on to nothing. Desperately I gestured at my captor and cried, "_Help!" _His eyes darted from me, to the knife, to the leering face of the sailor, and then he did exactly what I wanted to do. He skedaddled.

I let my arms hang in defeat. The sailor gave me a good shake and said, "You ain't getting away now, brat. I've got a message for Goyo, and I'm gonna write it in your blood!"

Oh yeah... my day had gone down the hole. I thought frantically for a way out that I knew didn't exist, and my mind randomly called up something Goyo taught me recently, 'When in doubt, complement.' I craned my neck to look up at him. "You can write? That's impressive!" and it was. I didn't know how to write, or read. In fact, neither did most of the people I knew.

"Shut up!"

He gave me another shake, one that jostled the coins in my pocket. Tentatively, one peeked out... further... further. It fell and plopped to the ground, and the sailor and I stared down at it. "What's this?" he said as it glistened in the sun.

He laughed, hooked the tip of his blade into my pocket, and gave it a tug. I felt ill as the fabric tore and the rest of the coins slipped between my wildly swinging arms. When he was satisfied that no more were coming out, the knife was back at my chest. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be real. I could hear the voices of the rest of the sailors approaching, and I refused to believe any of it. I refused to believe that this was my first brush with death.

But as the blade got closer, a nagging little doubt began to grow into full on panic. Then suddenly the sailor gave a cry and dropped me. I hit the ground running, not even wondering what just happened. I darted around a corner and under a cart, and stayed like that as my body shook and my heart fluttered like a trapped bird. I could hear the sailors just around the corner. The hope was that if they saw me come this way and followed, they would run right by, but it didn't seem they were even interested in me anymore.

"Hey, this aint' the same twerp!" said one of them.

Then I heard the leader. "No. He attacked me and the other one got away."

"They must be in together!"

"Than he's in with Goyo too." That was the boss again. "Hold him up!"

Now that I was beginning to recover from my fear, curiosity took its place and I dared to peak my head out from under the cart and around the corner. I couldn't believe what I saw!

That was my nemesis they had by the arms! But what the hell was he doing here?!? Then it dawned on me. He attacked the lead sailor so I could get away! I didn't understand. I beat him up once and had been trying to do it again, so why would he help me? And not just help me, but rush an angry, grown man. Of course he'd get caught instead! Who would do something so unbelievably _stupid_?!

He was struggling and spitting like a trapped animal, but the leader grabbed him by the hair and tilted his head back. Looking the terrified boy in the face, he said, "I'm gonna cut my losses out of your hide, kid."

I would have rolled my eyes if the situation wasn't so tense. This guy was trying _way _too hard. Instead I gulped, and realized that, sure I might have wanted to beat the kid to a pulp, but I didn't want him to get tortured or killed. I had to do something.

But what? I was just a kid too, so what could I do?

Well, I figured I should start by getting out from my hiding place, as there wasn't much I could do from under a cart... cart? The cart! I crawled out, stood up, and checked. Yes! The sailors were down hill!

I kicked the breaking blocks out from under the wheels and started pushing it around the corner. Luckily it was well oiled and went easily enough. Almost as soon as it hit the slope it was going on it's own, and I pushed as fast as I could.

The moment the cart collided with the horde, I stopped and surveyed the chaos of tangled men that I had created. "I can't believe that worked!"

The blond kid was as dazed as they were, so I hooked him under the arms and hauled him up. "Come on!" I yelled. Grabbing him by the wrist, I pulled him along just like I had three weeks before.

This time, when he came to his senses he managed to break out of my grip and pass me. Seeing as the now furious sailors were right on our tail, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and followed as best I could. He turned a corner, then another. Then I saw him take a peek over his shoulder, so I did as well. They were still after us, but were slowing down. Stamina... one of the perks of being young.

We rounded the next corner and they couldn't see us anymore. It was another side street. It's like the whole town is made up of nothing but twists and alleys. High walls, a few shops with boxes of fruit or nails out front, and one lone cart that was half-full of straw and bigger than the one I dealt with earlier. The kid jumped into the back of this cart, then onto a nearby awning and jumped up to hook his fingers on the edge of the roof. As he pulled himself up, I clambered onto the cart and the awning as well. I jumped and got my own grip, but I had about the same amount of muscle on me that he did and a lot more bulk to haul. I couldn't do it, and I scraped my arms on the old bricks as I slipped back down. Clutching them and crouching on the awning, I could hear the din of the sailors getting closer. If they saw me trying to climb than I was better off to keep running. I was trying to decide what to do when a bit of rubble hit me in the head.

I looked to see the kid gesturing at me to get up there. The horde was going to appear at any moment, so I took a deep breath and made another jump. He caught my hand and pulled me the few inches I needed to get my elbows up, which was enough. From there I found a few jutting bricks for toeholds and, with him tugging on the back of my shirt, I tumbled onto the roof. It was made of wood and rimmed by a low wall that I pressed my back against, keeping my head down. The kid was doing the same thing across from me and we stared at each other, our eyes full of fear as the sailors caught up and stood directly below us.

"I saw them come down here!" hollered one.

"Then which way did they go?" cried another.

"This way... I think."

"Stop standing around, you bunch of clods! They're getting away!" That was the leader, and at his shout they were going... going... gone!

I finally relaxed and remembered to breathe. After a soft chuckle and quick bask in the glow of my companion's dopey grin, I also remembered exactly who he was. I didn't feel anger now, just confusion.

"Why did you help me? I mean... we're pretty much enemies right? And you almost get killed for me? Who does that?"

He blinked at me a couple of times, almost like this never crossed his mind. He shrugged, and some of my previous anger with him started to boil up again.

I forced it back down and said, "Well... thanks." Great, now the guilt was back and I knew what I had to do about it. "And... about what happened before... I'm sorry." His sincerely happy face had me feeling bashful. I tore my eyes away from him, gingerly stroking my burning arms. I had to keep going, though. "Just... just stay away from Tierra, okay?"

That effectively killed his joy. He frowned, crossed his arms, and shook his head.

Okay... angry Tulio was back. "No, seriously. Stay away from her. She's _mine!"_

The look he was giving me was weird... quizzical. I don't think he grasped what I was talking about. "You know... I'm a boy. She's a girl. I... um..." I was blushing by now, "I... you know... _I like her." _I whispered that last part.

He stared at me like I just grew a donkey out of my head or something. Then he stuck his tongue out and grimaced in comical disgust.

"What? You don't like girls?"

His nose wrinkled up and he shook his head.

"But... what's not to like? They're pretty... and curvy... and they smell nice..."

I gave up when he mock gagged. I couldn't understand that just because I discovered girls already, didn't mean he would anytime soon. If only _that_ phase had lasted...

Still, something didn't make sense. "If you don't _like_ Tierra, why were you..." then it hit me, "The stories!"

He beamed at the very mention of them. I smiled, feeling pretty good. He wasn't my nemesis anymore, and I could be friends with him without worrying about loosing my girl.

"Tulio! TULIO!"

Both of us jumped, him because of the suddenness of it, and myself because I recognized that yell. "Dad?" I peered over the low wall of the roof and, sure enough, there he was looking angry as all hell.

"Tulio, _where are you!!!"_

I was possessed by a fear that was almost greater than being caught by a murderous sailor. Dad was mad already, and _I lost all the money!_

"He's gonna kill me..." I muttered. The blond was next to me now, also peering curiously at the man in the street who was screaming my name like bloody murder. In my panic I seized his shoulders and gave him a good shake. "He's gonna kill me!" I barely managed to keep my voice down as I clapped my hands on my head and freaked out. "Oooh... oh no... he's gonna kill me. I'm dead! I am _so _dead! What am I gonna do?"

I startled at the gentle touch on my arm and swung my head around to meet a pair of concerned green eyes. He stood up and started to walk across the roof, waving at me to follow. I took one last look at my father, who was still screaming my name up the street, and did as he wanted. We leaned over the edge and saw there was no awning on this side, but there was one on the next building. I cried out softly when the kid hurtled the gap between the buildings without a thought about falling and dying. He landed on his hands and knees on the next roof, stood, and beckoned me to do the same.

"Are you _crazy?!" _I whispered at him. "I'm not jumping that!"

He rolled his eyes and beckoned again.

I resigned that I had no other choice. With a gulp I closed my eyes, took a small run at it, and made my leap of faith. I landed on my side, and when I opened my eyes again I saw the kid smirking down at me.

He offered a hand to help me up. "That wasn't so hard," I said as I nonchalantly dusted myself off.

He rolled his eyes again, then led me to the edge of this roof, directly above the awning. "Hey, you're not really going to..."

Before I could finish he jumped off, slid down the fabric, and landed in a display box full of oranges. "...do that, are you?"

"Get out'a thereI" the store owner shouted as he stormed outside waving a broom. But the kid was already running up the street.

I shrugged and leapt off after him. The same thing happened, and when I landed in the oranges the owner whipped around, ready to hit me with the broom. I was to quick and took off laughing in the same direction. Running and sneaking, and pissing off honest, _non__-_homicidal folk. _This_ was my kind of mischief.

I found the kid waiting for me in an alley. "What next?" I panted.

He smiled and simply beckoned once more for me to follow him. As he lead me, we avoided the main streets and open areas, instead moving over, under, and behind anything we could find. Soon we came to the end of town and an old inn that I had heard about. It was derelict for a long time, but reopened not long before my father and I arrived. It was two stories tall, and was surrounded by a high, ivy coated wall that contained a grand old tree.

Around back he moved some of the ivy aside to reveal a tiny wooden gate that was fit for a cat. After a moment of effort, he pulled it open and crawled through. I followed him.

Inside the wall was nice, if a little claustrophobic. While I was craning my neck to look up at the high boughs of the tree, the kid slipped into the back door of the inn.

Suddenly someone shrieked, "Miguel! Where the _hell_ have you been?!"

I should have known better after hearing a voice so sharp and cutting, but I wandered inside to see what was happening.

I barely got three steps inside before the front of my shirt was grabbed by a tall girl of fifteen, and I was shoved against a wall. She had long, strait blond hair, a couple of shades darker than the kid's, and passionate hazel eyes. With all the ferocity of a mother bear, she growled, "_Who are you?!" _and... was that a carving knife she was waving in my face?

_Brilliant..._

"I'm... I'm Tulio!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"I... he..." I pointed at the boy, who was standing there looking as shocked and frightened as I felt. "We got into some trouble and helped each other out, and I needed to hide from my Dad so he lead me back here!" I said very quickly.

She was still glaring and didn't seem to be buying it so I shifted my eyes to him and said, "He'll tell you! Tell her what happened!"

His eyes widened in alarm. He opened his mouth as though he truly wanted to comply, but nothing came out.

"Come on! Say something!"

I was pulled from the wall and slammed against it again.

"Stop it!" the girl hissed. "He doesn't speak, you little twit!"


	5. Chapter 4

"_Whoa! Wait a minute. He was mute?"_

_Tulio had his mouth open to keep talking, but gave up on the words with a sigh. "Well, obviously not... I mean, you can't get him to shut up, nowadays," he said. "I had no way of knowing that at the time, though."_

"_Then... how-"_

_But he cut Chel off. "Just... just... just let me tell the story okay?"_

"Like... he doesn't speak Spanish?"

"No." Her fist in my shirt was starting to crush my chest. "Like, he doesn't speak _at all_."

"I... uh... well..." I had no idea how to react to that. This kid, Miguel, who I had beaten up, been saved by, saved myself, and now began to consider a friend... was mute? I stared at him with my mouth open and he hung his head in a gesture of shame.

I almost forgot about the girl with the knife until she slammed me against the wall _again. _"Ow!" I cried.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

She snarled then. It was the same look that Miguel had while in the grip of the sailors, and a small part of me realized she had to be his sister or something. However a larger part was more concerned that she was about to stab me. She would have too, if another voice hadn't cut into our little scene just then.

"Samara!" The voice was deep and powerful, much like the man who followed it into the room. He was old and grey haired, but tall and still very muscular under his faded clothes. His sharp brown eyes, the trim cut of his beard, and the way he carried himself all agave the impression of an ex-soldier. "What in the name of God do you think you are doing?"

A women of middle-age came in behind him, but she just sniffed and scowled at the room in general.

The girl was startled, but immediately went on the defensive. "Javier," she said, "This kid, he-"

"Is being held at knife point," he cut her off. "Why are you holding him at knife point?" He was growing louder and higher in cadence, and his eyes were beginning to bug out. I got the impression that he was a normally calm man nearing his breaking point, though I wouldn't know why for awhile.

"He followed Miguel in," Samara answered. "He could be-"

"Stop talking you idiot girl!" He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, then pointed at me and said, "You! Who are you?"

"Uh... Tulio?" I really wasn't sure I should be answering the strange man.

"And do you have family?"

"Yes?"

He leveled his gaze back on Samara. "There, you see? If you hurt him, he will go back and tell his family, and they will come for our heads. If you _kill_ him, they will search, and if they find out it was you, they will come for our heads. Either way we will have to leave, and you _know _why that is not an option."

I didn't know what he was talking about, but it had quite an effect on the girl. Her grip slackened and she said, "I'm sorry, Javier. I didn't think-"

"I know." The old man held his hand out and said, "Let the boy go and give me the knife."

With her head bowed, she complied. The moment the weapon was in his possession he gave her a good cuff upside the head. "_Think_ girl! You _must_ think. This is not a game we are playing."

"I'm sorry. I will." and she sounded sincere.

He then rounded on Miguel. "And you! Sneaking off again? Aside from the danger you put us in, Martin has been asking for you all morning! He is ill enough when you do not make him sick with worry."

Both kids now looked like they were about to cry and Javier, looking ashamed and unsure of what to do, turned his attention to me. "You're name is Tiago, no?"

"It's _Tulio._" I was getting tired repeating my name.

"Please forgive these two fools for troubling you. They have been through much. You are free to go home now."

"Uh..." Looking back, this was the turning point. The life I've lived diverges from what it could have been at that single cue to exit. Had I taken it things would have been much simpler. I would have gone home, my sense of adventure quashed by that string of bad luck, and I probably would have avoided Goyo from then on for fear of angering more sailors. Eventually I would exist, quietly, never straying far from my family and their provincial life.

Instead I opened my big mouth, and to tell the truth... I don't regret it for a second.

"Do you own this inn?" Seeing as we were in the kitchen, it was an easy assumption that he at least worked there, but I was finally in luck.

"I do," he answered with a raised eyebrow.

I tried to smile the way I saw Goyo do when charming a potential mark. "I happen to be on the run from my father and if you let me hide out here I'll forget this whole thing ever happened."

The eyebrow came back down again. "No."

"What?" I couldn't believe he just shot it down like that! "But you don't have to give me a room or anything. I quiet corner will do fine."

"No." He shook his head to emphasize it. "I am sorry, but it is not possible."

I thought that was it, but then Miguel moved to stand in front of me and made his argument on my behalf by widening his already big eyes and pouting. It was the first time I witnessed 'The Face.' Now let me tell you, 'The Face' works to this day but back when he was a kid, _Dios mío! _Nothing could stand against it!I swear I watched that man melt.

"Miguel," he said warily, "You know why your little friend can not stay."

Miguel's eyes began to water, making then glisten pitifully. He was pulling all the stops.

With a sigh, Javier relented. "Alright, but only for this night."

Both of us were happy, but Samara looked like she was about to explode. "That's not fare! You always give him what he wants!"

"She's right, my love." That was the woman who had come in with Javier. I forgot about her. "Now is not the time to spoil the child." I took a good look at her now. She was beautiful, tall with a slender waist draped in faintly reddish cloth, rich brown hair just barely flecked with grey, and a finely featured face. Yet her grey eyes were hard as daggers, and her mouth was lined with frowning. Two seconds of observation and I didn't like nor trust this woman.

Javier smiled and said, "Ne, Delora, Samara. Could you say no to _that_?" He gestured at the still pouting Miguel.

Samara shot the boy a dark glare, but her eyes quickly softened and she looked away with a, "Hmph!"

With a sniff, the woman swept from the room in all her dramatic glory.

Now that all of that was over, Javier was much calmer. He said, "Now then, Miguel, go see Martin and ease his worrying heart. Samara, I want you to tend to this boy's arms, and then take him to Miguel's room. You can do as wish after that."

"My arms?" as asked, confused. I looked at them and realized they were still scraped up and looking worse then ever. They started to throb again.

"Yes," he answered. "I will not have you bleeding all over my home. Now I must go back to work."

I was then left alone with the blond hellion who had tried to kill me only minutes before. I gulped. Why was she smirking at me like that?

* * *

Some time later I climbed a creaky, narrow staircase after Samara while rubbing my bandaged and smarting arms and trying to ignore her satisfied humming. On the landing there were two doors: one that was closed and one slightly ajar. She went to the open one and gestured for me to enter.

"You can sleep on the floor or something in here," she said before she took off back downstairs.

The room was a small, but bright as the afternoon sun poured through a single open window. It was a sort of attic, filled mostly with sacks of dried beans and spare pots, but against the outside wall opposite the door was a bed with one lumpy cushion and a pile of threadbare blankets thrown haphazardly across it. Here and there was more evidence that a boy lived in here. On a shelf was a carved wooden horse and a painted top. a beat up old mandolin was propped up inside of a pot. Clothing was strewn about, and some amateurish charcoal drawings were pinned to the wall. There was even a book on the floor.

Miguel wasn't there, so I figured he must still be with that Martin person. I waited quietly as the sun shifted in the sky, but soon I began to yawn. All of the excitement and near death of the day had left me exhausted, so I did as Samara suggested, pulled one of the blankets off the bed, curled up on it, and fell asleep.

* * *

**Note: Javier is pronounced _Ha._vier, and Martin is Mar._teen._**


End file.
